# Ugh, do I REALLY have to schedule ANOTHER colonoscopy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 29, 2023, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304 "2023-08-29T18:16:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/181 "2023-11-25T18:18:29Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > if you use a straw, you can shove the straw nearly to the back of your tongue and barely taste the liquid you need to drink. AND if you drink it as cold as possible the taste diminishes even more, I tried that and a straw at my recent colonoscopy and it was _almost_ pleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/182 "2023-11-25T18:28:37Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > 3+ weeks later, I’m still working up the nerve to schedule my colonoscopy. Please do it. ASAP. A friend just told me that she has her first one scheduled for a few weeks from now. She’s the same age as I am (64). I did NOT shriek in horror, though I did promise to send her my writeup. Hopefully all will go well - most people do not, in fact, have colon cancer - but you all know my feelings on delaying it this long. Her husband (2 years older) had never even heard of alternatives to the high-volume preps. Dunno when his next one is, but I’m sure his wife will share that writeup with him. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/183 "2023-11-25T19:50:19Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Maybe it’s worth posting this again: if you use a straw, you can shove the straw nearly to the back of your tongue and barely taste the liquid you need to drink. And if you were me you wouldn’t taste it because the taste would be lost in the puke I’d be throwing up. Gag me with a straw! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/184 "2023-11-25T20:14:26Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > 3+ weeks later, I’m still working up the nerve to schedule my colonoscopy. Not so worried about the procedure itself - I’m planning to go without anesthesia, as I’m curious to see what they see - but really not looking forward to the prep… It’s not as bad as people fear, though it’s important to follow the doctor’s instructions. Mine advised taking the prep solution with Gatorade, perhaps in part to improve taste. And some people imagine the need to down a gallon of solution, and that certainly wasn’t true in my case; once with brand-name Suprep and more recently with a generic equivalent of Suprep. In both cases, the solution was taken with enough water that I had to down sixteen ounces, although the instructions were to take two more sixteen-ounce glasses of water within the hour. And of course follow the instructions about what to eat and what not to eat. In short, it’s not as bad as people fear and it can help detect and treat polyps before they become cancerous. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/185 "2023-11-25T20:15:21Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > And if you were me you wouldn’t taste it because the taste would be lost in the puke I’d be throwing up. Gag me with a straw! Again, it’s really not that bad. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/186 "2023-11-25T20:20:17Z")
Maybe it isn’t to you - but the prep always makes me nauseated. And jamming the straw all the way to the back of my throat would make me gag and possibly puke no matter what I was drinking. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/187 "2023-11-25T20:21:10Z")
So don’t jam the straw in the back of your throat. It’s really not as bad as many people fear. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/188 "2023-11-25T20:32:44Z")
Did you miss the part where I said the prep always makes me nauseated? Maybe I should have specified it’s the liquid prep but it’s not something I am afraid of - it’s something I have experienced more than once. I did it anyway because it’s worth it to have the screening - but that’s not the same as “not really that bad”. It’s bad enough that when my doctor’s staff told me that my insurance wouldn’t cover Sutab , I told them to prescribe it anyway, I would pay retail ( turned out my insurance not only covered it, but I didn’t even have a copay.) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/189 "2023-11-25T20:52:26Z")
I’m glad the SuTab worked out for you. The point is that there are various ways of prepping for a colonoscopy and if one doesn’t work for you, another may. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/190 "2023-11-25T22:43:29Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > And jamming the straw all the way to the back of my throat would make me gag and possibly puke no matter what I was drinking. I rest the straw in my tongue and shove it as far back as is comfortable, i don’t bump up against my uvula or anything like that. > [@doreen](#): > > It’s bad enough that when my doctor’s staff told me that my insurance wouldn’t cover Sutab , I told them to prescribe it anyway, I would pay retail ( turned out my insurance not only covered it, but I didn’t even have a copay.) I’m glad the Sutab worked for you. The long straw helped me a lot, because i also found the liquid a little nauseating. Probably not as bad as you found it, but it was bad enough that discovering i could avoid tasting it was a godsend. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/191 "2023-11-25T23:43:47Z")
Requiring the pharmacist to add the flavor pack might be for the same reason the pharmacist needs to add water (or other solvents) to antibiotics and other meds that have a short expiration date when mixed - the date, and also because a layperson might not be able to reliably put it into a complete solution or suspension. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/192 "2023-11-26T03:02:44Z")
That is what I didn’t understand because I got my powder-in-a-jug weeks before I actually had the colonoscopy. What’s the point of having the flavor pack if it’s too far ahead of time to mix it into the powder with water? I mean, I’m assuming it would be too long for the mixed solution to just be sitting in the fridge unless it’s mixed right before use, but I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/193 "2023-11-28T00:21:23Z")
Yeah - my understanding is that you’re not supposed to mix up the blurgh too far in advance. A couple of hours, maybe, so you can have it really chilled. I’ve certainly seen the antibiotic situation (when my kids got that sort of med); the flavor packet thing sounds like bizarro bullshit, however. > [@doreen](#): > > Did you miss the part where I said the prep always makes me nauseated? Maybe I should have specified it’s the liquid prep but it’s not something I am afraid of - it’s something I have experienced more than once. That’s one of the things I’ve always worried about. Too many tales of people being nauseated by the gallon-o-glurge stuff. I don’t actually tend to throw up - like, practically ever (I literally remember the details of the only 2 times I’ve barfed as an adult; not the date, but the year, month, and day of week - and I’m 64 years old). But I AM texture-sensitive (can barely choke down yogurt, and it took me years to get to that point), and things can gag me somewhat easily (getting a throat culture is… fun). The odds of a successful encounter with, say, GoLytely, are a lot thinner than I’ll ever be. I would have been willing to try SuPrep (a friend got that when she started with MoviPrep and could not tolerate it - necessitating an emergency call to the doctor in the evening). Assuming it’s roughly the same ingredients as SuTab, not gonna touch that with a 10 foot endoscope. Oh - and the friend who horrified me by saying her first is in a few weeks (she’s the same age as I am) did later tell me that she’s had several ColoGuard screenings, the doc just wants a real procedure to cover the bases. I didn’t get the impression that this was due to any problems, just caution. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/194 "2023-11-28T00:42:17Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’ve got one at the end of the month, and the weird thing this time is that I have a long list of foods I can’t eat for a week before the procedure. … > Anyone else have such a weird restriction? I always have that as well, though the do-not-eat doesn’t start THAT far in advance; usually 3-4 days for me. A week sounds like overkill - if your gut takes a week to move stuff through, you have other issues. My understanding is that, while fiber in general keeps things moving - which you’d think would be a good idea here - they are concerned with residue being left in the colon. My personal take is that, knowing my gut on a normal day, let alone after having consumed pharmaceutical-grade Drano, this is unlikely to be an issue. Nonetheless, it’s not a risk I’m prepared to take, so the Quikrete Diet it is. I did ask my doctor if it was OK to use Miralax during that time, to head off any brickage, and he said it was fine. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2023, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/195 "2023-11-28T01:45:03Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > my understanding is that you’re not supposed to mix up the blurgh too far in advance. A couple of hours, maybe, I once bought some pretty pricey paint, then had to postpone my project a month. I took the paint back and they put it in a thing that shook tf outa it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2023, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/196 "2023-11-28T01:50:51Z")
What are you suggesting? Taking the colonoscopy prep solution to the hardware store for them to stick in the paint mixer? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/197 "2023-11-28T02:14:56Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So don’t jam the straw in the back of your throat. It’s really not as bad as many people fear. I’m very sensitive to this. I had a real problem with the old big, thick, X-ray plates they jammed in your mouth. Thank Og for the small, modern, fast digital ones. One colonoscopy I had used Gatorade flavored prep, a lot of it. I got it down but it killed my taste for that stuff. When I was in Japan I saw a can of “Pocari Sweat” in vending machines. I never had a chance to buy some, but one of the guys I worked with went to Japan on vacation and brought back a can for me. I’m sorry to say it tasted like Gatorade and I couldn’t get it all down. The one I’m having in 3 days only requires small bottles of prep rinsed down with tons of water. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2023, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/198 "2023-11-28T02:18:24Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > My understanding is that, while fiber in general keeps things moving - which you’d think would be a good idea here - they are concerned with residue being left in the colon. That must be it, though I’ve never had an issue before. The day before is a clear liquid diet, which is normal. I suppose they’ve had problems with tomatoes looking like blood or something. This is not a personal requirement - it appears to be the new standard for my clinic at least. And maybe they have new equipment for which any seeds or roughage is a problem. No whole wheat anything, which is kind of odd. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2023, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/199 "2023-11-28T02:34:00Z")
I’m still trying to navigate the health care system/insurance re: colonoscopies. Had my first one at 50, like a good doobie. Went with one of the lower-volume-of-fluid preps. and apparently the prep was, “incomplete.” From what they could see, there were polyps, but all benign. Recommended another colonoscopy because of, incomplete prep." But, because there were polyps, insurance company treats subsequent colonoscopy as,“diagnostic,” rather than screening. Which is not covered by insurance. Grrrrrrr ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2023, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304/200 "2023-11-28T03:57:05Z")
Are you sure your insurance doesn’t cover a diagnostic colonoscopy? I know that one of the differences is that screening colonoscopies aren’t subject to copays and deductibles, while diagnostic ones are subject to copays/deductibles. But although I’ve seen people say this before , it makes no sense that the insurance won’t cover the colonoscopy but will pay for whatever treatment a person needs afterwards. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-i-really-have-to-schedule-another-colonoscopy/989304.md?page=11)